Bigger talent than Vuskovic: Spurs' "absolute jewel" could be the new Son

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Son Heung-min's legacy at Tottenham Hotspur will live on for generations.

The South Korean international made 454 appearances for Spurs; only Steve Perryman, Gary Mabbutt, Pat Jennings, Tom Morris, Cyril Knowles and Glenn Hoddle can boast more.

During ten years at the club, Son scored 173 goals, thereby behind only Harry Kane, Jimmy Greaves, Bobby Smith and Martin Chivers, fittingly bowing out having hoisted aloft the Europa League trophy in Bilbao.

Now at LAFC, Son is loving life in MLS, scoring eight goals in nine appearances to date, including a hat-trick against Real Salt Lake in Utah last month.

Back at Tottenham, the question was always going to be how would they fill Son's void, who has been a virtual ever-present in the Spurs side for ten years, but have they struck gold on an "absolute jewel"?

Why Spurs fans are excited about Luka Vušković

One thing you'll never be able to explain to non-football fans is supporters' propensity to get massively excited about a player who has never even played for their club before.

Well, Luka Vušković is the latest player to fall into this category.

The 18-year-old centre-back joined Tottenham from Hajduk Split earlier this summer for a reported fee of £12m, despite having made only 11 senior appearances for the Croatian giants, on top of 14 on loan at Radomiak Radom in the Ekstraklasa.

Thus, he was loaned out to Hamburg, certainly impressing for die Rothosen so far.

He has started each of their last four Bundesliga matches, opening the scoring against Heidenheim at Volksparkstadion, helping to secure their first victory back in the top division.

HSV supporter Fiago labelled him the "best 18 year old centre-back I‘ve ever seen in my life", while Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout believes that he is "destined for great things".

Well, his statistics certainly make for impressive reading.

Thus, there's plenty of reasons why Spurs supporters should be excited about Vušković, but do they have an even bigger talent already in this squad?

Tottenham's next Son Heung-min

Because he arrived in January, initially on loan, before the move was made permanent in June for around £30m, Mathys Tel joining Tottenham seems to have gone under the radar, but could prove to be an excellent piece of business.

This season did not start particularly well for the Frenchman, not included in Spurs' Champions League squad, admitting that he is "definitely hurt" by the decision.

However, at the weekend, Tel responded by scoring his first goal of the season, breaking the deadlock against Leeds at Elland Road.

Manager Thomas Frank stated that he was incredibly "emotional" after this goal as he is "so happy for him. I think the character he's shown from a young man just really impressed me from day one".

So why is Tel so highly-rated?

Well, after making only ten appearances for Stade Rennais, Bayern Munich signed him for around £25m back in the summer of 2022, at which point Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout labelled him an "absolute jewel​​​​​​​".

He scored 16 goals in only 83 appearances for the Bavarian giants, known for his blistering pace, becoming Bayern's youngest-ever goalscorer when he netted against Viktoria Köln in the DFB-Pokal.

Nevertheless, the presence of a certain Harry Kane limited his game time, hence why Bayern reluctantly sold him to Spurs.

Well, according to Football Transfers, Tel's estimated value is around £45m, for comparison, Vušković is valued at around £14m, suggesting the £30m Tottenham paid is a real bargain.

So, why could he replicate Son's success?

Well, the South Korean also arrived from the Bundesliga at the age of 21, a year older than Tel is now, while the pair also have positional and stylistic characteristics, both possessing electrifying pace as well as an eye for goal, often deployed from the left but capable of playing through the middle too.

Thus, with Dejan Kuluševski, James Maddison and Dominic Solanke all currently sidelined, Spurs are crying out for some creativity in their forward line, something Tel could very much provide.

Having already proved himself capable of contributing at a high level at such a young age, Tel may well be the biggest talent in the Tottenham squad, not to dampen any of the justified excitement around Vušković!